Brooke Dwyer described Michael Miller as a great, hard-working man; and that he would have 'been a great dad' to their unborn child. Pictured is Michael Miller and Brooke Dwyer.Courtesy of Brooke Dwyer and Eric Powell

Navarre, who has no previous criminal record, will be on probation for five years. He must wear an ankle bracelet that constantly monitors his alcohol consumption, remain at home from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and complete 360 hours of community service, Wilson said.

The roles could have been reversed, Wilson said. Navarre could have been the passenger and it would be his family struggling with a loss.

“I can’t imagine being a parent and not sitting there and saying, ‘Why did it have to be our son?’” Wilson said.

Navarre apologized. He said he couldn’t express the impact Miller’s death has on his life.

“I’ve never seen a client more remorseful, just absolutely beating himself up about a situation,” his attorney, Sean Carroll, said. Miller was like a brother to Navarre, he said.

Outside the courtroom, Navarre’s mother declined comment.

Miller’s family members said they did not wish to see Navarre forever penalized.

“I have no anger, no hate, no animosity,” Miller’s father, Edward Miller, wrote in a statement read aloud by Assistant Prosecutor Nick Mehalco Jr.

Both Miller and Navarre knew the consequences of climbing in the truck, he wrote.

“The two of you got into this together. Michael is already serving his sentence. Now you have to serve yours,” he wrote, addressing Navarre.

Micheal’s older brother, William Christopher Miller, could hardly keep his composure as he spoke to the judge.

The sentencing was emotional. Many in the audience cried. Even people in the courtroom for unrelated hearings seemed affected.

“I know that Forrest didn’t mean it,” William Miller said, but there must be a price.

"I can’t put into words the emptiness or the hole in my heart I now feel,” Michael Miller’s grandmother, Carol Miller, wrote in a statement, also read by Mehalco.

She wasn’t sure what punishment would “do the most good.”

“I know what Michael would say, but I am not as forgiving when it comes to my grandchildren,” she wrote.

Karen Miller said she sees her granddaughter, now about 3 months old, a couple times a week.

The girl lives with her mother, Brooke Dwyer.

Karen Miller said she took the baby to Navarre. She wanted him to see her.

“Some other guy is going to be raising my granddaughter eventually,” she said.

She hopes young people see the video or images of the crash’s aftermath.

“Somebody has got to get through to these kids,” she said, standing in the courtroom hallway, where supporters of both Miller and Navarre embraced.

She wanted Navarre to see the "inside walls of a prison," but she understood the judge's decision.

Her husband asked Navarre to do what he can to prevent other deaths.

“Do something Michael does not have a chance to do,” he wrote in the statement.